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But look at it now: Organizers expect 300,000 to 400,000 people for the weekend festivities.

You don’t need a study to understand that the event is also generating millions of dollars of
local spending.

“People now realize the economic impact of Pride,” said Joe Spinelli, owner of Spinelli’s
Deli.

This wasn’t the case 18 years ago, he said, when his deli was one of the few business
sponsors.

The growth of the parade is an example of how Columbus has gained a reputation as a
gay-friendly, amenity-filled destination for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community,
said Scot Hafler, owner of Wall Street Nightclub, a Downtown gay bar.

It’s a reputation that also boosts the economic impact beyond the annual parade as the city
attracts more tourists and gay-themed meetings and sporting events.

“When it comes to emerging LGBT meccas, you should look no further than Columbus, Ohio,”
states the June/July issue of
Unite magazine, which addresses that community with lifestyle and business reporting.

The annual Pride festival in Columbus is “the second largest in the Midwest (after Chicago) and
one of the top five in the country,” said John Herman, Stonewall’s marketing coordinator.

Experience Columbus, the city’s convention and visitors group, and the Greater Columbus
Sports Commission use the increased awareness of the city that results from the Pride celebration
and city’s growing gay-friendly reputation to reach out to LGBT tourists and events.

“Columbus is a smart and open-minded city, where people are free to be themselves and follow
their passion,” reads the tagline of a current Experience Columbus ad campaign in Chicago and
Washington, D.C.

“We’re definitely targeting the LGBT community,” said Experience Columbus spokeswoman Beth
Ervin. “Not everyone, but a lot of cities are starting to make that connection. They’re a group who
like to travel and have disposable income.”

Experience Columbus recently sponsored a site visit for journalists from several LGBT
publications, such as
Unite. The Greater Columbus Sports Commission helped to organize a Stonewall Sports
Network Field Day on March 9 that brought the decision-makers of several LGBT sports groups to
town.

Columbus will host events this year sponsored by the International Gay Bowling Association, the
Gay and Lesbian Tennis Alliance and the Gay and Lesbian Volleyball Association. All three groups
have held events here before.

“When you have an open and welcoming city, we can cater to these different types of groups,”
said Bruce Wimbish, spokesman for the sports commission.

The Gay Softball World Series will be held here in 2015 and is expected to attract 5,000 players
and generate $5 million in economic impact.

“We hosted it here in 2010, and the overall feedback was, ‘Wow, we had no idea how much Columbus
has to offer the gay community,’ so we came back quicker than we normally would,” said Dallas
Aldridge, league commissioner of the Columbus Gay and Lesbian Softball Association.

One of the highlights of Pride is the local softball group’s Bat-N-Rouge, a cross-dressing,
fun-filled softball game and fundraising party that attracts 3,000 people.

“I just got an email from someone from Pittsburgh making sure we’re still set for Sunday for
Bat-N-Rouge,” Aldridge said. “He wanted to make sure to take Monday off from work so he wouldn’t
have to miss it.”

Hafler, the nightclub owner, said the annual event helps him cultivate new customers. The event
concludes with an already sold-out brunch with actor George Takei, the grand marshal of today’s 11
a.m. parade on High Street.

“I work the line outside Wall Street during Pride, and I meet a lot of people experiencing
the club and Columbus for the first time,” he said.

“Then, I’ll see them a month or two later here, and they say they had so much fun at Pride that
they came back for a weekend vacation.”